


Shut Up and Dance

by one_go_alone



Series: Modern Middle Earth [2]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Clubbing, Dancing, F/M, First Meetings, Inspired by Music, Kili is a dork, Love at First Sight, Modern Middle Earth, Music, Romance, Sappy, Sneaking Out, So Sappy, and smitten, kiliel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 21:46:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5944186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_go_alone/pseuds/one_go_alone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unexpected dance partner grabs Kili at a club down in Dale. Kili has never had a better surprise in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shut Up and Dance

**Author's Note:**

> (This was inspired by WALK THE MOON's song "Shut Up and Dance" because it is SUCH A KILIEL SONG. I will fight you about this. 
> 
> I apologize if this or something similar has been done before; I'm afraid I haven't read too much Kiliel fic, so hopefully I'm not stepping on anyone's toes. >.>)

The deep beat thumping out of the club’s speakers was a welcome distraction, and Kili let his booted foot tap along to it as he sipped his ale. He watched the dancers out on the floor with a certain wistfulness, but figured it was probably better to stay back at the edge like this. He had desperately needed to get out of the Mountain and away from the expectations of being a prince for awhile, and fortunately the clubs down in Dale were a good place to find a little anonymity. There weren’t a lot of dwarrow who came down here, and there were few among the Men who would recognize the second prince of Erebor.

He was just finishing his ale when a hand suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him in the direction of the dance floor.

“Whoa!” Kili yelped, stumbling, and was reaching for the dagger hidden inside his coat when he got a look at who had grabbed him.

The elf lady was tall, with hair the color of flame and eyes that flashed a brilliant green under the bright dance floor lights. 

Kili was pretty sure his heart had ceased to beat for a long, breathless moment.

He was absolutely sure that he had never seen anyone so beautiful in his whole life.

“Hi,” he breathed, moving along only too happily when she pulled him into the beat and flow of the dance. “What’s your name?”

“You think I would give my name to a dwarf?” she asked, and even the scornful tone (half-expected as it was) wasn’t enough to deter him.

“I’m Kili,” he blurted without thinking, not enough room left in his head to feel guilty about potentially revealing himself, “and you did pull me out to dance.”

“I just needed to get away from those- those _pests_ ,” she growled, and that finally broke through the star-struck daze in Kili’s head, just a little bit. 

“Pests?” he asked, frowning a little and starting to turn around. If any of the Men were bothering her-

“Don’t!” she snapped, and his eyes whipped back to her immediately. “Don’t look back. It’s nothing. I just- It’s nothing.”

Kili continued to move with her, studying her. Her face was hard, closed off, and her movements seemed...stilted, almost, despite the endless grace of the Elves. She certainly looked as if she could handle herself, so it seemed like the best way he could help her was just playing along. 

“Well, at least I rank above a pest,” he joked, still feeling breathless and not quite sure what else to say.

Those bright eyes snapped down to his, and she seemed to properly look at him for the first time. Kili grinned at her and she blinked, then frowned. 

“Barely,” she allowed, lips pressed together tightly. She drew them further into the dancing, her eyes back on the crowd behind him. Kili followed eagerly, biting his lip to hold back the words that she wouldn’t want to hear. She danced almost mechanically, with controlled movements that kept her from looking out of place, but did nothing to let down her guard.

It was the slight sway of her hips that did him in, though, that one little sign that she was feeling the music, but wasn’t letting herself truly dance. 

“You’re holding back,” he said.

“Shut up, dwarf,” the elf hissed, her eyes back on his. It made him grin to have her attention, even if it was her ire. “Just keep dancing!”

“If you would dance properly, then I will!” Kili returned, still grinning, and held out his hands to her.

She hesitated, still looking at him rather than whatever she was running away from. “How do I even know that you _can_ dance properly?” she asked, but her hands slid into his even as she said it. 

Kili felt his face brighten even more, and tugged her just a tiny bit closer before pushing to spin her away and then back again. Her hair spun out behind her like leaping flames, and she was blinking at him in surprise. “You’ll never know until you try me,” he teased.

At last, she seemed to take that as a challenge, and threw herself into dancing with a grace that took his breath away. He kept up, though, long years of training in both dance and fighting standing him in good stead, even if club dancing wasn’t quite what his dance instructors had had in mind. She let him lead, barely, and the dwarf was certain that the grin never once left his face as he did his best to help her forget whatever had troubled her.

The music throbbed around them, colored lights flashing. They swayed and spun and twisted around each other, touching hands and nothing else, and though Kili knew he could easily ache with desire for her, it was also enough just to have this. Just to see her move, to see the shine in her eyes slowly brighten as she gave in to the music, as her gaze left his less and less, as they let the music move them apart only to drift minutely closer when they came together again. If there was any strangeness to dancing with someone so much taller than him, Kili did not notice it.

When the music ceased and the lights came on, it was a shock. They both jolted back a little, and it was only then that Kili fully realized how close they had been, mere inches separating them as he had gazed up star struck at her...and whatever the female elf thought of dwarves, or had thought of him at first, it was not hatred or disgust in her eyes now.

“Closing time,” he breathed, stepping back. 

“Yes,” she agreed, shaking herself, her eyes at last moving back to the rest of the room. Anyone who had been a “pest” must have gone, since her shoulders then slumped in relief. 

They walked out together in unspoken agreement, and then away from the club, down a smaller side street where fewer people were passing.

They were not touching any longer, but still Kili stood closer than he would have dared before, and she did not move away.

“Thank you, dwarf,” she said awkwardly after a long moment in which Kili did not even attempt to hide his admiring gaze.

“Kili,” he corrected with another grin. 

The elf rolled her eyes, but repeated “Thank you, Kili,” dutifully.

“And might I know your name, now?”

She gave him a wry look, but then it faded and she said quietly, “Tauriel.”

“Tauriel,” Kili breathed, and was her name not as beautiful as she? “Tauriel.”

He hoped he wasn’t imagining the low flush that spread over her cheekbones.

“Yes. No need to overuse it-”

“Tauriel!” 

The new voice from the other end of the alley was an unwelcome interruption, and they jerked apart for the second time that night, having unconsciously drifted closer again as they spoke.

A small group of elves stood there, led by a young male elf with golden hair that fell past his shoulders. He was kind of pretty too, Kili supposed, but his expression was sour, and he doubted that anyone (even any elf) could possibly compare to Tauriel in sheer beauty and grace. She was even more breathtaking out here in the faint starshine, he thought, than she had been in the club.

“I’m coming, Legolas,” Tauriel said at once, and backed away.

“I guess you have to go?” Kili asked, low, swallowing and trying to remain cheerful in spite of his disappointment.

“I do,” she said, equally low, her steps away from him hesitant, and she had yet to turn away from him. “Thank you again, Kili.”

“You’re welcome, Tauriel,” he breathed, clenching his fist so that he wouldn’t reach out to her. 

He was a dwarf. She was an elf. 

He had known that from the beginning, but the sudden pain in his heart was no less sharp...

She tore her gaze from his suddenly and was gone, down the alley to join her companions. The male elf gave him a brief, suspicious look, and then they had all faded away into the shadows of Dale’s nighttime streets.

Kili stood where he was, gazing after her, the place where Tauriel had vanished from his sight fixed in his mind.

“Kili! There you are. I figured I’d find you here.”

Jolted out of his longing thoughts, Kili turned to his brother with a sheepish smile. 

“Are Mother and Uncle very mad?” he asked, scratching at the back of his head.

“If you’re very lucky, and we go right now, they might not notice you’ve been gone,” Fili said, his own smile wry, since they both knew the chances of that were slim. “What were you doing, anyway?” He peered a little bit more closely at his younger brother, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine!” Kili protested, holding up his hands. “Just- Just enjoying the evening, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh.” Fili did not sound convinced. Well, they knew each other a bit too well for that, Kili acknowledged. He knew that he would tell his brother about Tauriel soon, about how she had made him feel...but not just now. 

Not when it was still so new, and when part of him was telling him to just let it go, because he probably wouldn’t ever see her again.

Kili’s heart rebelled rather fiercely against that thought.

He followed his brother back towards Erebor without protest, the memory of hair the color of flames and eyes shining bright with starlight tucked carefully away.

_Tauriel._

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing these two, so I hope that I have done them justice. If I can make improvements, please let me know! (This is also unbeta'd, so if you spot anything that needs fixing, I'd be happy to hear about it.) 
> 
> There MIGHT be some continuation to this at some point, which I would post as additional chapters to this fic. I cannot make promises, however, so it will remain marked as a one-shot for now. :)
> 
> Comments/kudos/questions are much appreciated!


End file.
